Inset left: Charles Edward Wright (Philadelphia Police Department). Inset right: Veronica Herling (Jason Lloyd Funeral Home). Background: Herling's shoe after the crash (WPVI/YouTube).
A man in Pennsylvania is accused of striking a woman so hard with his SUV that he sent her flying 20 feet into the air and knocked her shoes and jewelry off.
Charles Edward Wright, 37, faces a multitude of charges, including murder, homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, and recklessly endangering another person in connection with the Nov. 1, 2024, crash that killed 43-year-old Veronica Herling, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
The hit-and-run was fatal, the Philadelphia Police Department announced the next month, identifying Herling as the victim.
On that late autumn morning, at about 2:15 a.m., a black Nissan Murano was driving on Levick Street in Philadelphia when it struck Herling. In its search for its suspect, the law enforcement agency shared a grainy photo of the suspected driver, identifying him as a "Black male with a beard/mustache."
Herling was crossing the street when Wright hit her, with the Murano striking her so forcefully that her sneakers fell off her feet and some jewelry was also thrown from the area of impact, investigators said, according to local ABC affiliate WPVI. The victim was thrown some 20 feet into the air and landed about a block away.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect in the hit-and-run on the 4800 block of Levick Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 1, 2024 (Philadelphia Police Department).
Police said the vehicle was last seen traveling south on Torresdale Avenue after turning from Levick Street. The Murano had a "temporary VA state paper tag," officers added.
A neighbor told the Philadelphia-based outlet that drivers come off the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge about a mile away, where the speed limit is 40 mph, and "don't slow down" as the limit changes to 25 mph.
"They keep going straight and they fly," Chanalle Allison told WPVI. "Probably like 10 cars in one year got smacked right there at the same spot."
Wright had a preliminary arraignment on Wednesday, and he is scheduled to reappear in court for a preliminary hearing on March 23.
Comments